MARIETTA - Cobb County School District Superintendent Fred Sanderson is expected to give his state of the system address Wednesday at the school board's March work session.

Although the district would not provide the Journal with an advance copy of the speech, board Chairwoman Lynnda Crowder-Eagle said she expects most of it to be about the budget.

"Budget is the big topic," Crowder-Eagle said. "I don't know that he'll be ready to give specific cuts."

Crowder-Eagle said she doesn't expect specifics to come until the district gets a firmer plan from the state regarding funding and cuts later this month. But she said the state legislature may be proposing to shorten the school year by as many as 10 days.

District spokesman Jay Dillon said about the speech: "It's going to cover both a look back at some of the accomplishments and challenges from 2009, and definitely the major financial challenges in 2010 that lie ahead."

Sanderson, his Executive Assistant Michelle Luckett and Dillon will likely be revising the superintendent's speech up until the last minute on Wednesday, Dillon said.

Also Wednesday, board members will hear about several SPLOST projects that are expected to be sent out for bids soon then voted on March 25.

These projects include additions and renovations to the Ninth Grade Center at North Cobb High School. While the district has budgeted nearly $22 million for the project, both the program manager and the architect estimate the renovations will only be about $17 million.

At its last meeting in February, the board approved the contract for the demolition of a vocational building at South Cobb High School. According to Doug Shepard, the district's SPLOST oversight director, this new contract is completely separate from the demolition project and will be awarded to the lowest bidder as usual.

The board will also hear about plans to award a contract for a Web-based project management system to organize all of the district's construction projects.

The program, Shepard said, would allow all of the district's construction professionals to collaborate on projects, and it would give the public the option to read about and see each project as its being built.

"There'd be a wealth of information and we'd provide most, if not all, of the information to the public," Shepard said. "Ultimately, it's a way to improve transparency within the SPLOST program."

Shepard said the evaluation committee hopes to have a recommendation for the board to vote on at the March 25 meeting.